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Community Corner

Nature Scene: Fox Tale

Yes, there are foxes in East Brunswick. Here's one man's experience.

It may have been as long as eight or nine years ago that I was awakened at 4 a.m. by a very unusual sound. I must have been in a deep sleep as I thought, at first, that I was dreaming and that this sound was part of the dream. But gradually, it wended its way into my conscious mind, and I opened my eyes and concentrated intently. I heard it again…and then again. It was a fairly high-pitched, yipping sound, and it was coming from the backyard, not far from the bedroom window. There were no lights on in the yard, so it didn’t pay to look out of the bedroom window at that moment, and I went downstairs and turned on the backyard lights. It took a minute to locate the source of the sound; it was coming from behind an 18 inch- diameter tree to my right, but in a not very well lit portion of the yard. Then something moved and I saw it. It was a Red Fox, and the yipping was its bark, high pitched like a small dog. I was so excited at that moment. I had never seen a fox in the wild before, and now it was here in MY wild. 

The fox was intently facing the side of the house where the garbage cans were placed. It barked and then retreated behind the tree again and again. I never saw what it was barking at, but I could surmise that another animal, perhaps a raccoon, was trying to get access to one of the garbage containers and that the fox very much wanted to do the same. 

I grabbed my old video camera and was able to tape about five seconds of the fox as it trotted across the yard and into the woods. I’m not sure where that short tape is now, but I do remember it was a grainy image of the retreating fox…no front view at all. 

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In the morning, I could see that the garbage can was definitely moved but not opened. So there was no winner during that evening’s standoff. 

Over the years, we have caught glimpses of Red Fox from time to time, usually in miserly doled out portions of time. It would be visible and then gone in an instant. But we knew it was around. And then we went through a period when no foxes were evident for several years. During the summer of 2008, after seeing an adult fox once or twice behind the house, I spotted two kits running out from between two houses and into the road. I happened to be in the road with my camera at that very moment, shooting pictures of Ruby-throated hummingbirds feeding on honeysuckle blossoms, and I spotted the kits. They took one look at me (I was very still at that moment) and without wasting a second, turned around and headed back into the woods. They had learned well from their mother and didn’t bother to stay around that strange-looking two-legged creature that had spotted them. So we had babies, too. 

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Well, this winter is turning out to be a watershed year for foxes, right here in East Brunswick. Right here in my backyard. 

On Dec. 26, we observed the playful behavior between a pair of Red Foxes in the yard. This was a most unusual event to witness and I was thrilled with having the chance to watch (and photograph) something that few will ever see. Please see theDecember 27, 2010, entry to learn more about that particular day and view the photos I was so fortunate to take. By the way, the fox is always aware of my presence in the house and looks inside to see if the “big ugly thing” will be a threat or not. By now, it’s learned that I’m NOT a threat, and it just looks to let me know that it sees me, and it goes about its business. 

February 1st brought about a little mystery. We had just received about 1/4 of an inch of heavy, icy slush, and when I went to the driveway to clear it for some visitors who were expected, I found tracks. It might have been fox tracks, but they seemed too large. Fox seemed the ideal candidates as we have NOT seen any wild dogs about in recent years. Please see the blog entry about this little episode HERE

Now we’re up to February 4th, when one of the foxes decided to dedicate its day to the bounty that was making itself comfortable in my yard…birds and squirrels. I have seven bird feeders going most of the time, and there are always birds and squirrels in the yard. The squirrels (mostly) can’t get onto the feeders, but they know that birds are notoriously sloppy eaters, and that they kick a lot of seed to the ground, so they take advantage of the droppings and just wait to be fed. And they get fat. And they get just a bit lazy. And the fox knew this. This fox made at least eight forays into the yard to grab at something…anything. On the third try (that I saw) it managed to snag a squirrel and immediately ran away with it. Within 30 minutes it was back. I don’t think that a single squirrel would fill its belly, or perhaps it was getting the food for its mate. It did seem to be one to two months early for kits to be born yet, and much too soon for them to require meat. On subsequent trips to the yard, it came up empty.  

February 5th was a repeat performance of the previous day.With fewer trips, and some experience under its belt, the fox made just a few trips to the yard. But here I had the chance to watch it grab another squirrel. (No, I’m not worried it will take all the squirrels. They’re already indicating mating behavior and there will be squirrels aplenty this year. But if the numbers do drop, the fox will avail itself of any number of other locations, until the food at those locations is depleted, and numbers in my yard recover. It is the balance of nature on display right before me.) Apparently it is not easy eating something as small as a single squirrel and the fox contorted to finish its meal. When I looked back where it had downed its lunch, there was nothing at all left on the snow to indicate that it had been eating there. Nothing! 

Interestingly, during this time, the other backyard residents had a chance to learn of the fox’s behavior. After a while, birds just made sure to stay clear of the fox, and they would continue frequenting the feeders while the fox was occupied. 

Since this time, we’ve observed the fox several times, but mostly running through the meadow behind the house (really a large, clear utility easement). I did see it take a Junco, but that’s not much of a meal for a fox. Apparently, ours isn’t the only feeding grounds it enjoys. 

This was a long but satisfying chapter. If another chapter presents itself, the fox(es) will return to this venue. I hope so. 

I also hope you enjoyed this little Fox tale as much as I did. 

Rich

This column also appears regularly in Mr. Wolfert's blog, Nature Notes...a Lifelong Journey. Did you like today’s entry, and would you like to see more like it? If so please SUBSCRIBE to this blog and RECOMMEND it for Facebook.

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